Patrick Foot

Throughout 2014, financial traders around the world have been enthusiastically taking to bitcoin as a new area for speculation. Analysts, commentators and investors have all ensured that 2014, for investments at least, may well be remembered as the year of the bitcoin.

Despite a point in mid-week when it looked like the dollar might finally be in for a real correction, the dichotomy of economic performance between the US and most of the rest of the world appears to be growing once again.